Israel welcomed Syria's announcement on Sunday that it would attend a U.S.-hosted peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, but stressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be the main focus of the meeting.
"Israel sees in a positive way the high-ranking participation of Syria in a conference which is clearly about the Israeli-Palestinian track, but could open additional avenues to peace in the Middle East," said Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who arrived earlier in Washington.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the future of the Golan Heights could come up in Annapolis negotiations.
Speaking about the importance of wide Arab participation, including Syria and Saudi Arabia, Livni added: "There isn't a single Palestinian who can reach an agreement with Israel without the support of the Arab world. This is one of the lessons we learned seven years ago."
a victory for the U.S., which is hoping that broad Arab participation will support their efforts
clipped from: www.haaretz.com